Attendance at the Duelling Worlds was excellent.
28 players showed up for the preliminary round. Four arenas were used:
the Double Drum (2), New Boston and the Car Wars Classic Arena. The players
were given their car, the Firestarter (designed by Chris French) or one
of its variants, and were placed in the arenas. The rule of no tire shots
was in effect and the fighting commenced. Mines and explosive spikes were
considered to have an inch burst radius from the center of the counter.
Oil/ice combinations only have a D2 hazard.
Firestarter: Mid-size, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, large power plant, 4 PR tires, driver, 2 VMGs w/incendiary ammo linked front, MD w/napalm loads rear linked to VMGs. FP armor: F50, L50, R50, B50, T5, U20. Accel. 5, top speed 92.5, HC 3; 5,750 lbs., $19,400.
Variant A: Replace one VMG with FCE rear linked to MD. Armor is now F60, L60, R60, B60, T8, U20. 5,744 lbs., $18,826.
Variant B: Replace VMGs with 4 linked MGs front w/incendiary ammo, MD
to 2 linked JDs linked to MGs, and add five points of armor. $19,530.
Variant C: Remove one VMG. Add streamlining, FP spoiler and airdam,
36 points of FP armor. Top speed is now 100 mph; 5,748 lbs., $19,352.
Body armor and personal fire extinguishers were purchased with any remaining
money.
The two Double Drum arenas were both hotly contested.
Rams were common along with the extensive use of mines in the choke points
and tunnels. One duellist managed to vault his car out of the arena and
two others exploded. Jim Beecher, Grady Elliott, Mike Garrity (NOVA), and
Phillip Swim all advanced to the final round.
In the New Boston Arena things got ugly fast as
mines were dropped at the intersections. For the second time Jason Walter's
car blew up from Jacob Abram's mines. Better luck next year Jason. A few
other duellists also fell prey to mines and literally grounded to a halt.
One ran into the central TV bunker. It finally came down to Jacob Abrams
and Garth Anderson. They rammed, with Garth pushing Jacob into a wall,
destroying Jacob's last VMG and damaging the power plant. Jacob willingly
surrendered. Garth Anderson and Darrin Marquez advanced.
In the Classic Car Wars Arena the duel was drawn
out due to the mostly-open arena. After typical carnage Tim Jacques and
Tony Kowalchak advanced to the finals.
The final round was held in the Aksarben Arena (New
Omaha, Nebraska). The gates were chosen and two of the duellists, Phillip
Swim and Tony Kowalchak, started on opposite sides of the tv tower. Starting
speed was a minimum of 30 plus whatever acceleration the players chose
to use. The vehicles were Division 50 cars.
Points
A Kill (represents a surrender or death of a vehicle's crew) 5 Points
Firepower Kill (destroying all offensive, direct-fire weapons on a
vehicle) 2.5 points
Maneuverability Kill (destroying the power planet or otherwise rendering
a vehicle immobile) 2.5 points
Being Killed -5 Points
Checkpoint 1 point scored once per player
Target 1 point scored once per player
Survivor/Tie Breaker 5 Points
Players have a -3 penalty to hit the targets in addition to the regular
targeting penalties. Targets already include the stationary
bonus.
Tim started dropping spikes and fired his two lasers
at Phillip, doing good damage to the front. Phillip's returned fire with
a turreted medium laser and laser-guided front-mounted rocket launcher.
Tim suffered some damage in return. Garth and Mike headed for the nearest
checkpoints and rounded the obstacles. Jim turned left for a checkpoint
and Darrin also went after one. Tony advanced for the overpass, dropping
mines and grenades on the way. Grady headed for the center of the arena.
Everybody continued to accelerate except for Tony,
who was slowing down as he went up the overpass. Mike, Garth, Darrin, and
Jim scored a checkpoint each. Phillip and Tim broke off their combat with
Tim heading for Mike. Mike got hit by Tim's lasers and sustained notable
damage. Phillip skirted Tim's spikes near the gate only to be fired upon
by Jim's ATGs, doing heavy damage. Garth left a flame cloud next to a checkpoint
then turned to circle an obstacle. Grady reached the center area.
Tony reached the top of the overpass and stopped.
He took a potshot at Grady with his medium laser and missed. Phillip and
Jim successfully negotiated through Tim's spikes. Garth came through the
canyon between the overpass and the obstacle. Darrin went after the NE
corner checkpoint while Mike went after the one in the SW corner. Mike
left three flaming oil shots next to the checkpoint to deter pursuit.
Meanwhile Tony scored a hit on Garth's top armor,
doing just enough damage to remove it. Jim, Mike, and Garth then scored
their second checkpoint each. Garth left a flamecloud next to an obstacle.
Tim turned and in an excellent shot destroyed Tony's turret. Grady fired
on Tim, doing good damage with his HVMG. Darrin scored his second checkpoint.
Garth then detonated the three TDX mines hidden in the flame cloud. The
blast destroyed three of Darrin's tires. He kept in control but slid to
a halt. Along the way he sideswiped a wall and he left a few flame clouds
next to it. He left his FCE on automatic. Garth got a half-kill for disabling
Darrin's car.
Phillip scored his first checkpoint in the SW corner
and left several spikes. Tony fired his first wire-guided missile at Jim's
right side. He missed and it hit an obstacle wall instead. Mike and Garth
scored their third checkpoint. Mike fired his HVMGs at Tony's side, doing
critical damage. Tony fired a grenade near the east center checkpoint.
The FOJ grenade was avoided by everyone.
Tim went over and scored the far center checkpoint. He fired and hit Darrin with his lasers. Darran returned fire with his BC, doing average damage. Jim turned to the NW corner to score that checkpoint. Grady turned to follow Tim around the overpass.
Tim whizzed by Darrin to score his second checkpoint
and left spikes near the corner. Grady fired his HVMG at Darrin's front,
damaging it. Grady was hit by a BC shell in return. As Grady closed in
Darrin's gunner fired his concealed BC, doing damage to Grady's right side.
Phillip scored his second checkpoint in the SE corner. Garth hit one of
Tim's spikes, receiving minor tire damage. Garth then scored his first
target hit.
Jim rounded an obstacle and headed for the targets
on the tv tower. Mike hit Tony's side again, destroying the power plant
in the process. Tim did some radical turns to get to a checkpoint. He found
that Phillip blocked his escape with three flame clouds and a spike load.
Tim, suffering poor handling and no other place to turn, rammed Phillip.
The head-on combined speed of 170 mph confettied both vehicles. Obstacles
and debris was applied. The northern end of the arena was a mess.
Grady ducked into the NW obstacle's tunnel. As he
exited he was hit by Tony's last wire-guided missile, doing minor damage
to the front. Tony then surrendered to Mike, making him the first full
kill of the arena and Mike the early point leader. Jim scored his first
target and turned. Phillip and Darrin did average damage to each other.
At this point things heated up. Jim slipped past
Darrin, going next to a wall and through some smoke left from some flame
clouds only to hit a fresh flame cloud left by Grady. Jim went into a spin,
slapped the wall and fishtailed off it. He tried to make it around an obstacle
only to spin again and hit a wall. He lost all of his tires and came to
a screeching halt. Garth meanwhile scored another target. Mike went through
the canyon and scored his fourth checkpoint.
Due to Darrin's weapon layout he was able to engage
Jim and Grady. The return fire demolished his front and right-side armor,
injuring the gunner. Darrin's driver abandoned the vehicle and pulled his
gunner to the safety of Gate 3. Garth headed around the jump to the SW
corner and scored his fourth checkpoint. Mike circled an obstacle and then
headed towards the TV tower to score it's targets. Grady circled back to
the NE to get Mike. To everyone's surprise Jim's car started moving again
after being scored as a kill by Grady. Jim's active suspension allowed
him to get rolling again on his rims. (Note: in future Worlds this will
not be allowed simply due to the fact that the car would have no traction
and would be bottomed out anyway).
Garth scored his fifth checkpoint in the western
part of the arena and headed for the NW checkpoint. Mike headed toward
the tv tower targets and shot one. Grady went to the SW corner. Garth scored
his sixth and final checkpoint, closing within one point of Mike. Mike
scored another target and laid some flaming oil to stop Grady from chasing
him. Grady avoided the oil and Jim accelerated towards the action around
the TV tower.
Grady loops around the southern obstacles around
the jump, quickly doubling back into the fray. Mike turned to the SW and
scored his third target. Jim barely t-boned Mike on his right side, doing
heavy damage to both cars. Incredibly, Jim missed with both of his ATGs.
The t-bone destroyed both of Jim's ATGs and damaged his engine. Garth fired
a flame cloud to get Mike off his tail. Mike turned toward the west wall
and continued to lay down flaming oil. Jim went through the oil and sustained
light damage. Grady drove through the oil and Garth's flame cloud. That
was when Garth remotely detonated his TDX mines, wiping out Grady's tires
and casuing him to become a maneuverability kill.
The game lasted four and a half hours and comprised
of 21 turns. After points were totaled Garth came in first place.
Finishing Positions:
1. Garth Anderson: 13 points (6 checkpoints, 2 targets, and one complete
kill)
2. Mike Garrity: 12 points (4 checkpoints, 3 targets, and one complete
kill)
3. Grady Elliott: 4 1/2 points (2 checkpoints, one complete kill and
was a mobility kill)
4. Tim Jacques: 4 points (3 checkpoints, 1 target, one complete kill
and killed)
5. Phillip Swim: 3 points (3 checkpoints, one complete kill and killed)
6. Jim Beecher: 1 point (5 checkpoints, 1 target, and was killed)
7. Darrin Marquez: -1/2 point (2 checkpoints and was a mobility kill)
8. Tony Kowalchak: -5 points (killed).
Special Awards:
"I'm not dead yet" Award to Jim Beecher who got his car back into combat after losing his tires, thanks to his active suspension. The arena did score him as being killed.
Hard Luck Award: Jason Walters for losing his tires early on in the
preliminaries.
Vehicles:
Shredder (Garth Anderson): Luxury w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis,
150 ci gas engine w/tubular headers, blueprinting, and VP turbocharger,
4 gallon duelling gas tank, hvy. suspension, 4 FP solid tires, driver w/10
points of FP component armor and regular body armor, 3 linked SMDs w/tdx
loads (radio-detonated only) under, BC w/HESH ammo right, extra BC magazine
w/7 regular rounds, 6 FcDs (2 R, 2 L, 1 U, 1 B), spoiler, airdam, 10 points
component armor for engine, SWC, blow-through
concealment for SMDs, HD brakes, overdrive, 8 links, 2 fake dischargers,
fake ramplate. LR metal/FP plastic armor: F2/42, L1/34, R24/26, B1/34,
T0/12, U0/12. Accel. 10/5 w/overdrive, top speed 70/90 w/overdrive, base
mpg: 45, HC 3/4 @60+; 6,594 lbs., $47,955.
Vivisector (Mike Garrity): Luxury w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis,
hvy. suspension, 150 ci gas engine w/tubular headers, blueprinting, and
VP turbocharger. 5 gallon racing gas tank, 4 solid tires, driver, 2 linked
HVMGs w/HD ammo front, FOJ rear, SWC, HD shocks, overdrive, 10 points FP
component armor for driver, 10 points FP component armor for engine, 10
points FP component armor for gas tank. Sloped armor: F90, L55, R55, B50,
T5, U5. Accel. 10/5 w/overdrive, top speed 70/90 w/overdrive, base mpg:
45, HC 3; 6,600 lbs., $49,970.
Victory (Grady Elliott): Luxury w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis,
hvy. suspension, 150 ci gas engine w/blueprinting, supercharger, VP turbocharger,
4 gallon duelling gas tank, 4 SB solid tires, driver, HVMG w/HD ammo front
linked to FCE rear, improved fire extinguisher, HRSWC, spoiler, airdam,
HD shocks, overdrive, 3 hot-smoke dischargers, 3 laser-reactive webs, 3
links, fake ramplate, no-paint windows. 44 points of sloped LR metal armor,
52 points of sloped plastic armor. Accel. 10/5 w/overdrive, top speed 82.5/102.5
w/overdrive, base mpg: 45, HC 3/4 @60+; 6,599 lbs., $49,046.
A-Wing 2047 (Tim Jacques): Sedan w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis,
hvy. suspension, sport power plant w/PCs, 4 FP solid snow tires, driver,
2 linked lasers front, SD w/incendiary ammo left-rear corner, HD shocks,
spoiler, airdam, 2 sand dischargers under, 2 FoJ dischargers left, links
- lasers to SD, lasers to each pair of dischargers, 2 bumper triggers,
anti-lock brakes, SWC, overdrive, streamlining. Sloped armor: F70, L70,
R70, B60, T5, U5. Accel. 10/5 w/overdrive, top speed 135/155
w/overdrive, HC 3/4 @60+; 6,119 lbs., $49,902.
Black Buticus (Phillip Swim): Mid-size w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis,
hvy. suspension, 200 ci gas engine w/VP turbocharger, 1 gallon duelling
gas tank, 4 FP PR radial tires, driver w/IBA, RL w/incendiary ammo front
and extra magazine, IR medium laser in turret, laser battery, LGL for RL
rounds, SD w/explosive ammo rear, SWC - laser, no-paint windows, 3 FcDs
(1 L, 1 R, 1 B). 52 points LR metal armor, 101 points FP plastic armor.
Accel. 15, top speed 85, base mpg: 35, HC 4; 5,578 lbs., $48,335.
Boom Boom (Jim Beecher): Luxury w/CA frame, x-hvy. chassis,
hvy. suspension, 200 ci gas engine w/supercharger and VP turbocharger,
5 gallon duelling gas tank, 4 radial solid tires, driver w/body armor and
flak jacket, 2 linked ATGs front w/APFSDS ammo, HD brakes, anti-lock brakes,
HRSWC, HD shocks, bumper trigger front, improved fire extinguisher, active
suspension. Sloped metal/plastic armor: F1/105, L1/47, R1/47, B1/37, T1/5,
U1/10. Accel. 20, top speed 90, base mpg: 35, HC 5; 6,596 lbs., $49,140.
Mob Buster (Darrin Marquez): Luxury, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension,
200 ci gas engine w/blueprinting and VP turbocharger, 5 gallon duelling
gas tank, 4 FP solid tires, driver w/ body armor, gunner, BC w/HESH ammo
and extra magazine front, BC w/HESH ammo and blow-through concealment right,
FCE rear, HRSWC - gunner to front BC, SWC - driver to right BC, HD brakes,
HD shocks, spoiler, airdam. FP armor: F51 (ramplate), L40, R39, B39, T6,
U7. Accel. 10, top speed 80, base mpg: 35, HC 3/4 @60+; 6,590 lbs., $49,930.
Tony's Car: Van, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, super power
plant, 6 radial PR tires, driver w/body armor, gunner w/body armor, 2 WGMs
linked front, turreted laser, MD left linked to MD right (all mines radio
detonated). Grenade launcher rear w/5 thermite grenades, 3 flaming oil
grenades, 1 white phosphorus, and 1 paint grenade. FP/RP armor: F17, L50,
R17, B17, T12, U3, 6 10-point wheelguards. Accel. 5, top speed 95, HC 2;
7,194 lbs., $47,540.